Tigers erase Falcons' fast start

By Matt Le Cren

Wheaton North coach Bryce Cann would have been happy to see Thursday night’s match with crosstown rival Wheaton Warrenville South end after the first 25 minutes.

That’s understandable considering his squad had outplayed the favored Tigers and enjoyed a 1-0 lead. But the final 55 minutes was another story as the visitors slowly took control and scored twice in a 68-second span in the second half to pull out a 3-1 victory.

“It’s a great rivalry,” Cann said. “They’ve got a very talented team this year. We thought if we played well we’d have a chance. After 25 minutes we certainly put ourselves in that position, but a one-goal lead in this game is never safe.”

The Falcons (3-4-3, 1-2 DuPage Valley Conference) surprised South with an energetic start and created three scoring chances in the first half. They capitalized on one, taking the lead at the 19:17 mark on a goal by Pat Langan. Jacques Ntahoturi started the play by breaking into the right side of the penalty area and firing a shot that hit the right post. Before Tigers keeper Derek Babb could regain his feet, Langan knocked home the rebound.

“That goal was definitely a wakeup call,” Tigers midfielder Drew Bellmer said. “I think we came out a little flat and they came out flying. They poked in that first goal and I think that’s when we realized that we had to start kicking it in.”

Bellmer did his part as he scored twice and assisted on his team’s other goal. The senior tied the game with 5:24 left in the first half, volleying home Ricky Munguia’s cross from the right wing.

But the Tigers (11-1-1, 2-0) didn’t take control until midway through the second half. South grabbed the lead with 20:47 remaining when a Munguia cross from the left wing found Bellmer in the box. Bellmer flicked the ball to his right to an unguarded Joseph Bianucci, who scored his first goal of the season.

North thought Bianucci was offsides on the play and argued to no avail.

“I didn’t even know they were contemplating if I was offsides until I got back to the center line,” Bianucci said. “I couldn’t tell you if I was or not. Drew had a really good feed. It feels great. There are 13 seniors on the team and to beat our rivals [in our last year] feels good.”

Bianucci’s goal swung the momentum clearly in favor of the Tigers, who scored again on a nearly identical play at the 19:39 mark. This time Bianucci unloaded on a cross from Alec Brazeau. The shot was saved but Bellmer buried the rebound.

Bianucci said the Tigers spent halftime talking about playing the ball on the ground more instead of going through the air like the Falcons do, and Bellmer agreed it was key.

“We’re definitely a possession-minded team,” Bellmer said. “We ping it through our midfield and find our outside mids. I think the first half we were playing a little too much kick-and-run on defense, but once we get playing centrally and play simply and get to the small passes, that’s how we got our last two goals.”

“We felt they were a little disheveled on the outside,” South coach Guy Callipari noted.

“We thought we could get around the corner with some deception and sweeping the ball back through. They didn’t seem to be tracking the ball well centrally.

“But give credit to North. They were tough to break down. They came out very spirited, very aggressive and they got us into a game we didn’t want to play.”

Ultimately, the Tigers proved their superiority.

“It was good to get rewarded for having the better of the run of play for that first part of the match,” Cann said. “[Langan’s score] was a great goal. Unfortunately it kind of woke them up a little bit.”

Man of the match: Drew Bellmer

By Matt Le Cren

Wheaton Warrenville South likes to tout its diversified offense, but senior midfielder Drew Bellmer always seems to be in the thick of the action.

Bellmer had two goals and an assist in the win over Wheaton North, giving him 11 goals and 11 assists in 13 matches.

“Bellmer is a talented player and he buried two,” Wheaton North coach Bryce Cann said.

“You can’t give a guy like that space and unfortunately tonight he took advantage of it when we gave him space.”

Bellmer has stood out because he is as adept at setting up goals as he is scoring them. The Tigers sometimes use other players to trigger their offense so teams can’t key on Bellmer, but he’s never far away from the ball.

“We go through him a lot,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Guy Callipari said. “You can find him in front of the front runners, you can find him underneath the front runners.

He’s just got a great awareness and sense of where he needs to be. We don’t necessarily have to go through him all the time…but statistically he’s always going to show because he has that soccer savvy.”

But Bellmer, who has drawn interest from Northern Illinois and Missouri State, credits the teamwork of his senior-laden team for his success.

“It’s definitely the connection with the other guys,” Bellmer said. “When you have that many returning players you’ve got great chemistry. We know where everyone is making the runs.

It takes 11 guys to make it go and it only takes one to finish. I’ve been fortunate to be on the end of a couple of them and the last few games I’ve been swinging in crosses and guys are finishing them. Credit to them.”